Hey all! I know I'm putting my interest in SUPER late, but I was wondering if there are any more spots available in this game? I've read everything you've got so far over and have some ideas, but I wanted to check and see if there were any specific character roles that could use filling and such.

My bad, people. My RL has really kicked up a gear this week (which is why I've been a bit quiet in New Olympus, Shihong).

Shi, go ahead and post up a character and we'll work it in. It would be unfair of me to make these poor guys wait any longer than they have already so I'mma post an entry thread of sorts soon. At the same time, I know your writing and plot ideas are good enough not to need me to preview your character, so I'll take it on good faith that whatever you cook up will be juicy, and will get slung in with the other first posts.

Name: Lady Helena MachenRace: Sines-Tora (God-Cursed)Appearance:Lady Helena is the very picture of deadly elegance, less a person and more a painting or a statue given life. Looking at her, one could scarcely call such a woman a thing of flesh and blood. Ivory skin free of blemishes, raven hair that remains calm and tamed even in the most blusterous winds, and sharp blue eyes that pierce the very air itself with their intensity. Her garb is that of a noble warrior, polished metal and silken cloth dyed with muted colours. Her clothing seems as much an extension of her own body as her arms and legs, lovingly crafted into functional works of art. In battle she wields only a massive rapier, though it is rare that it ever clashes with another sword.Equipment: Besides her rapier and the clothing on her back, Lady Helena carries nothing upon her shoulders.

History: The Sines-Tora are often considered a myth within the most densely populated areas of the world, and are mentioned only as a warning to those that would seek to use magic arrogantly. According to legend, the Sines-Tora were once an enclave of mages hidden far to the East, burrowed deep within untouched mountains to escape the restrictions that their respective kingdoms sought to lay upon them. Fearing persecution or death, those magic users that sought to study forbidden knowledge gathered together to share their power and tap into energies that each alone could never reach. After countless generations it is said that they learned to wield the powers of the Gods themselves, and from that point forward used their magic to create offspring in their own image. Outraged by what they saw as an attempt to usurp their dominance, the Gods cursed these newborn children and wrenched the souls from their bodies. But in their arrogance the mages refused to back down, instead filling these soulless husks with their own boundless magical forces.

So it went that the mages gave their lives to these perfect children, who would go on to make children of their own without the influence or blessings of the Gods. Though soulless, each possessed limitless magical potential and their own unique ability. Though they cannot die from the passage of time, a violent death would result in their total destruction. Without a spirit a dead Sines-Tora ceases to exist, its magic dispersing back into the world.

Lady Helena, like many newer generations of Sines-Tora, has spent most of her early life abroad instead of sequestering herself away with the Elders of her people. She is constantly seeking new knowledge to absorb and memorize, hoping to find a way to gain the soul that the Gods denied her. Among certain circles she is known as a professional Raider of Tombs, and a damn good one at that. To others she is a fierce and unyielding hunter of magical beasts and demons. Still more know her only as a rather extravagant looking book worm, holing herself up in moldering old libraries and pouring over tomes laden with centuries of dust. Her true nature is not something she advertises, and most simply take her for royalty or perhaps a human with traces of elven blood rushing through her veins. She avoids the religious and those that are spiritually attuned, hating to be seen as nothing more than an abomination or a hollow shell with a pretty face.

Personality:

When Helena sets her sights upon a goal, neither the Gods above nor the Devils below could bring to bear enough might to keep her from it. Fiercely independent and intelligent, it is rare for her to ask for the help of others or to travel in groups. Though diplomacy is always a preferable alternative to violence, she shows absolutely no hesitation when it comes to butchering anyone or anything that stands in her way. She tends to come across as exceedingly cold or emotionless when in social situations, which makes it all the more surprising to witness her moments of seething rage. She is at her happiest when underground and exploring the forgotten places of the world, and is known to smile broadly at the sight of an old bookcase.

Powers:

Magic Siphon: Due to the nature of her body, Helena is able to feed upon other sources of magic for sustenance. She states that her preferred food is will 'o the wisp, though magically attuned crystals will also suffice. Opponents that utilize magic or who are inherently magical, such as demons, angels, spirits and the like, can be drained in a similar manner, though it requires continuous physical contact.

Golem Crafting: Each Sines-Tora possesses a magical ability that is entirely unique to them, and cannot be passed down through the generations. In Helena's case, she wields the ability to grant Life to the Lifeless. By piercing her rune-encrusted rapier into an inanimate object and focusing, nearly any material can be restructured in seconds to create a massive humanoid guardian ready to obey her every command. These constructs are an extension of her will, and will single-mindedly act to protect her from harm until they are completely and utterly obliterated. Helena is able to control three such golems and still be capable of movement. Any more than three and she must remain perfectly still in order to keep her concentration perfectly in sync between each of the bodies. At six the structural integrity of each golem begins to become unstable. Seven appears to be her absolute limit, though by that point they can scarcely be called more than animated piles of junk. During her travels she keeps one Golem active constantly, which she has named Bartholomew. This golem is the first one she ever created, and is made out of petrified wood. As its bindings are nigh-indestructible, it can be remade time and time again upon destruction.

Well I'll hold back for a while before posting again, to let Kuno and Digi get their first posts in.

This is a nice start. I'm having ideas of how the characters are linked, and I believe the Brimstone Burger Cartel (BBC, heh) may have to be the ones responsible for the bounty on Mayu's head, but I think Rufio knows nothing about it. I'm also thinking about a rival to the BBC, maybe a criminal group that operates outside of Atayo City, and has more effect on the outlying towns...this would provide a link to the characters out there without forcing everyone to be dragged towards Atayo.

Course, this is all speculation.

Vampy-whereabouts is Mayu?Shi- Bartholemew's a good stealth scout then? ;-)Kat- Your vamp getting about in the daytime. Have you already explained this to me and I forgot?!

Well I'll hold back for a while before posting again, to let Kuno and Digi get their first posts in.

This is a nice start. I'm having ideas of how the characters are linked, and I believe the Brimstone Burger Cartel (BBC, heh) may have to be the ones responsible for the bounty on Mayu's head, but I think Rufio knows nothing about it. I'm also thinking about a rival to the BBC, maybe a criminal group that operates outside of Atayo City, and has more effect on the outlying towns...this would provide a link to the characters out there without forcing everyone to be dragged towards Atayo.

Course, this is all speculation.

Vampy-whereabouts is Mayu?Shi- Bartholemew's a good stealth scout then? ;-)Kat- Your vamp getting about in the daytime. Have you already explained this to me and I forgot?!

Um... he's unconventional?

Actually, I hadn't explained it, and had planned on him NOT being able to go out at night (I had forgotten that when I posted) but now that I think about it, it would make more sense if he could go out in daylight. For one thing, he's not really a vampire... he's the product of a demon and a succubus, which is what I thought might make a vampire. That, or a succubus and a human. ANYWAY! I figured because he's born a vampire and not made one, he's got "Special privileges". He also has many shortcomings, aka: he can only survive on live human blood (since his mother feeds of human emotions, and his father would have fed on anything with flesh) and his mind control is SEVERELY limited... in fact, let's say he can only communicate mind-to-mind with a human that he's drank blood from, and only if their will is weaker than his? ummmm.... what else... any suggestions are, of course, more than welcome. xD

So, Rufio, do the BBC sort of run Atayo? If so, is it all under the table? And would it be the same for the rival group?

Also, I'm glad your waiting, I hate to leave anyone behind. Are we going to keep a strict posting order, a general posting order, or no order at all?

As in trying to keep the posting order, unless majority demands/unreasonable absence/absentees consent, I'm sure you know the deal.

That's cool about your vamp, maybe this gives him more plot, as in questioning his heritance and how he is what he is? An interesting anomaly, and one that's given me an idea for the BBC and their rivals' ultimate goals, and one that also ties in some smut.

Demon/hybrid breeding.

Discuss?

The BBC run some things in Atayo, and mostly under the table, yes.

I was gonna go ahead and create their rivals completely off my own back, but keeping with the theme of player creation of Rufren Mayata, I'll put it out to you guys as well. Any ideas? Anything you'd like to see from a rival criminal group, any interesting themes you can think of, any other ulterior motives, any ties to other player characters? Anything at all, I'm all ears. :)

My first thought on demon breeding is that they breed very similar to humans, but much less often.Reason 1) most of the time they are very humanoid in form, so I would think they'd be related in nature as well.Reason 2) (this is the biggie) if demons bred often or had more than one or two offspring at a time on a regular basis, the world would quickly be overrun with demons. What with how long-lived they are and whatnot, I'd say a demon probably only breeds for offspring twice in it's life, or else they try often and it only actually takes on rare occasions.

As for hybrids, I would say it depends completely on what the hybrid is.

The criminal groups: I had an idea. What if.... what if the rival group was MUCH more evil than the other group? What if their main goal in all of this is to get rid of anything that could be a big threat (I was thinking bounties put under the table on BBC members, or anyone else influential, maybe even Rufio) and try to take Atayo for themselves, since it's one of the nicer cities in Rufren Mayata? Perhaps the BBC has to sort of bully some of our characters (perhaps even all) into helping them keep the city from the rival group?

This would be a long-in-coming idea, of course, so we could really take our time planing it out. It's a bit cliche, as well... but I just liked it because it would eventually get all of our characters on one side of an issue, fighting together, companionship, whatever. Of course, that's not to say that a character couldn't choose the other side, either because of their own reasons, or because they were misled, or whatever. If they were misled, it would be cool if they figured it out eventually ad had to come crawling back begging forgiveness. lmao

He's a bit of a big boy, but quiet when he wants to be! Also pretty good at posing as a pile of junk, as I already suggested. Though Helena is able to make golems out of whatever material she desires, and could conceivably make one small enough to prove useful for scouting.

I'm not exactly certain how I weave her into the narrative you all have already spent so much time setting up, but I figured I would at least get her right into interacting with someone else instead of staying off to the side without a clue. If anyone has any bright ideas, I'd love to hear them!

He's a bit of a big boy, but quiet when he wants to be! Also pretty good at posing as a pile of junk, as I already suggested. Though Helena is able to make golems out of whatever material she desires, and could conceivably make one small enough to prove useful for scouting.

I'm not exactly certain how I weave her into the narrative you all have already spent so much time setting up, but I figured I would at least get her right into interacting with someone else instead of staying off to the side without a clue. If anyone has any bright ideas, I'd love to hear them!

I'm honored you picked Toren to interact with. ^^

I'll get back to you about ideas though.... I'm gonna have to think about that a little.

He's a bit of a big boy, but quiet when he wants to be! Also pretty good at posing as a pile of junk, as I already suggested. Though Helena is able to make golems out of whatever material she desires, and could conceivably make one small enough to prove useful for scouting.

I'm not exactly certain how I weave her into the narrative you all have already spent so much time setting up, but I figured I would at least get her right into interacting with someone else instead of staying off to the side without a clue. If anyone has any bright ideas, I'd love to hear them!

I couldn't think a better way to approach the story than how you did, Shi. Already we have characters mingling and relationships affecting plot, excellent.

I'm just tugging your ankle.

Anyway, it's good. It marks her out as a landscape of her own, and I was quite interested as to the townsfolk being semi-accustomed to it already.

Curioser and curioser!

Kat- What you said about breeding I can feed off, being that demon spawning is quite rare, there is all the more reason for an oppurtunist body to group them and try to milk what they can off the "resources" they have acquired.

Which brings me onto my next subject-your idea for the rival group (still without a name? Any ideas? Let's brainstorm!) sounds 90% as to what I had in mind. This other organisation could be one that holds important ties all the way up to the top of Atayo's judiciary system, and for reasons that are all becoming prevalent in the current plot (maliciously placed bounties, for example,) the players are becoming aware of this conniving organisation and slowly becoming alert to its intents.

Maybe, much later on in the game, I could get players to be part of that organisation.

In other news, having PM'd Kuno, I'll post tomorrow and resume the posting order if she doesn't beat me to it.

Who hasn't been there? lol I go through it often... but usually I pull myself out of it by just lazing back for a week and only answering any RPs I have plenty of muse for. ^^ Dunno if that will help you any.

I'm really glad you could use my thought on demons and their young, Ramael. xD

I'll get back to you about ideas though.... I'm gonna have to think about that a little.

Shihong, I have ideas!!!

Okay, mostly one: How do you feel about Helena being privy to the knowledge of who places bounties and whatnot... or, in this case, who else would know how to trace the bounty? To put it simply, how do you (and Ramael) feel about Helena and Rufio either knowing each other, or Helena at least knowing of Rufio? That way Helena could either point Toren in that direction (Atayo city), or even offer to take him there. ^^

Er, I guess it was all I could think of at the moment, mostly to give Toren a next step forward in helping Mayu. lolz. Don't be afraid to shoot it down for whatever reason. xD

That would probably be the most fluid way of weaving her into the plot. Helena and Bartholomew aren't exactly inconspicuous, and would probably be known by quite a few people who like to keep tabs on particularly strange travelers. As she holds information in very high regard, it would stand to reason that she would be able to divulge Rufio's likeliest whereabouts to see if the bounty on Maya could be repealed or discussed.

If you'd like them to be more than just passing acquaintances, like old chums of a sort, let me know and we can work something out! Considering how far and wide she travels, not to mention the sort of artifacts she traffics in, it's not an exaggeration to say that Helena is known by a great deal of influential people.

Sorry to interrupt the flow of conversation here, but Shihong, where the heck do I know that avatar from? Maybe it's my imagination... but I'd like to know if it is or isn't. >.>' I could swear I've seen it somewhere...